2005 Chateau Latour Premier Cru Classe, Pauillac

Chateau Latour Premier Cru Classe, Pauillac

Colour: Red

Vintage: 2005

Region: Bordeaux, Pauillac

One of the original 1st Growths in 1855, Latour's reputation for making consistently outstanding wine continues to this day. The consistency of its wines can, to an extent, be attributed to the fact that, since 1670, the estate has only ever had 3 owners. Originally acquired by the Segur family, Latour remained in the hands of their heirs until 1963 when the estate came under British ownership with acclaimed wine writers Hugh Johnson and Harry Waugh serving as advisors. Since 1993, the estate has been under the ownership of Francois Pinault, a lifelong fan of the wines of Latour who, since taking charge, has overseen a string of incredible vintages. Since Pinault took the helm, Latour has been characterised by extraordinary levels of concentration, richness, and structure. Most significantly, following the 2011 vintage Latour opted out of the traditional En Primeur system with the intention of cellaring their wines themselves and only releasing each vintage as and when they believe it is ready. Hence the reason you will find fewer recent vintages of Latour offered than the other leading Bordeaux properties.

Tasting Notes and Scores

99 MS

Dark, youthful red; dense and backward on the nose, with very gravelly aromas suffusing the ripe blackcurrant cabernet; rich and full yet restrained too, with a remarkable flesh and fullness given its modest alcohol, fresh in acidity, very fine grained in tannin; long and elegant and understated; mouthfilling in gravel aromas, ample, generous, so fresh yet so sweet, very long across the palate, very long to finish. A most complete Latour, a remarkable combination of quiet power, density and refinement. 2025-50+

Michael Schuster

981 WL

Quality 986 | Brand 998 | Economics 941 | buzz brand
Quality: Predicted life of 19 years, one of the longest drinking windows in its peer group, which averages 9 years Brand: Strong restaurant presence, featuring on 52 of the world's top wine lists, including Napa Wine Bar & Kitchen Economics: #2 most active wine at auction, its top 5 vintages having seen 4,896 75cl equivalent bottles traded in the past year Production: Lower production than its peer group average of 151,058 bottles

- www.wine-lister.com June 2017

Wine Lister

98 RP

The 2005 Latour (87% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot and Petit Verdot) is a spectacular effort from Château Latour. It has an inky plum/purple color and a gorgeous nose of graphite, crème de cassis, and floral notes with some forest floor in the background. It is full-bodied, super-concentrated, and for my taste, probably one of the two or three most intense, rich, and complex wines of the entire Médoc. The wine has great texture, purity and a finish of close to 40 or 45 seconds. The tannins are surprisingly sweet, even in this large-scaled, masculine wine. Drink it over the next 50+ years.

Robert Parker (Wine Advocate #219, Jun 2015)

Wine Advocate

98 NM

The 2005 Latour has long been a formidable wine. I was granted the opportunity to re-taste the 2005 at the property after their estate released library reserves in February 2017. Now at twelve years of age, it has retained that riveting bouquet of black cherries and black plum, crème de cassis and graphite, although I find less of the latter compared to previous bottles (including the one tasted blind just three weeks earlier). The palate is very well balanced with blackberry, black plum, sea salt, a hint of balsamic, quite spicy in the mouth with a hint of cloves. There is immense weight and presence in the mouth, although I wonder whether the tannins are as fine as say the 2010 or even the nascent 2016 Latour tasted alongside? Either way, it remains a fabulous First Growth destined to last many, many years. Tasted March 2017. - robertparker.com, May 2017

Neal Martin

100 AG

The 2005 Latour was mind-blowingly profound in two recent tastings for this report. Deep and sensual to the core, the 2005 is utterly captivating. All the elements are so seamlessly put together. Graphite, crème de cassis, licorice, dark spice and lavender infuse the 2005 with so much energy. More than anything else, though, the 2005 is a Latour of texture and resonance. Even after several hours, the 2005 is fresh and full of energy. Wines like this are just life affirming. That's about all I can really say. Tasted two times.

Antonio Galloni

Chateau Latour Premier Cru Classe, Pauillac